Fall Riding

It isn’t very high tech nor did it involve my beloved Lucille, but a friend who owns a farm near Chatham (about 60 miles east of here) invited me out to work with him yesterday. He was plowing his corn field and really, I just sit in the tractor with him and chew the fat - although I did walk for a while and picked a couple of bushels of rocks and tossed them off the edge of the field into a drainage ditch.

It was such a beautiful day that I left early (8:15 AM) and rode the ST1300 out to a little village called Wheatley in the early morning chill (about -3C or about 27 deg. F). It is about 50 km (30 miles) from my place and there I had a diner breakfast and then completed the trip to the farm after my fingers thawed out. The ride back was much warmer +3-5C (around 37-41 deg. F) so no problems with the pinkies.

Anyhow, a fun day and in that cold thick air, that big Honda made TONS of power. It felt great to be alive and on my bike, plus helping a good friend.

Cheers,

Pete
 
Got up early this morning, anticipating a balmy, low 50's and sunny day. Had to wrap up a new drive chain fitment on 'Jimi The Winter Bike' in anticipation of a three-hour window of nice weather. Discovered that the swingarm bushings were shot. Oh well, one more winter repair job on the list.

Just as I was about to turn the garage stereo on, I heard a faint whimpering sound, which was quite unusual. Was it some varmint that had somehow gotten in? Or was it the dog?? Had he gotten in the garage?

No, Farfel hasn't budged from his spot on the couch in over 25 years.

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But you never know what these animals do in the dead of night; they might be plotting to kill us, for all we know :eek:.

After some investigation, I realised that it was Jimi doing the complaining. With some prodding, he eventually said that he wanted "a train track experience like the '75 had". Imagine that, a motorcycle being jealous.

So, we headed out west about noon, and found some tracks in Elbridge which he could straddle, and once again show that the measure between the axles of an XS650 is equidistant to the space between American train tracks ("Standard Railroad Gauge"). Credit to Paul Sutton on that fact.

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...and then off to the wonderful old buildings nearby at UTD.

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Heading home, The dam at the south end of Otisco Lake was scenic today, with a strong wind creating quite a chop:

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....and then a quick hello with my neighbor's horse, a friendly fellow.

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Damn, I hope that this isn't the last ride of the season.......................................
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So, what's the chance that both Yamaha in the 1960's and George Stephenson in the early 1800's would use 1435 mm / 56.5" as a measure?

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Stephenson, the English railway pioneer and Civil Engineer
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spent much of his early engineering career working for the coal mines of Durham County, England.

A popular legend that has been around since at least 1937 traces the origin of the 1435 mm gauge even further back than the coalfields of northern England, pointing to the evidence of rutted roads marked by chariot wheels dating from the Roman Empire. It is curious that the Roman pace or passus was 4.855ft or 1435mm; a thousand such was one Roman mile.

Today, 55% of the railways in the world use the Stephenson Standard Gauge.

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> So, could there be some sort of Deep Purpose or karma as to Yamaha using 1435mm as a wheelbase measure, connecting the XS back to the Romans??
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.Perhaps I should check with Von Daniken.
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I keep saying I hope this isn't my last ride of the season.... This was from last Friday, I just had to get out there it was 65ish. I found a road I hadn't explored before. In my feeble attempt to compete with some of you who have superior photo skills, I took this picture. This is the backside of Crystal lake between Sauk City and Lodi. IMG_2793.jpg
 
'Dude,
Thank you so much for your photos and history lessons. So many people identify "New York" with NYC, and have no clue whatsoever the real size, diversity, and history of the rest of the state. A friend of mine recently took me for a ride (in the car - I'm recuperating from heart surgery) to Oswego, NY, where, beside Fort Oswego, local history, and numerous parks, are countless scenic overlooks of Lake Ontario. I'm always amazed by such an 'inland ocean'. Breathtaking...
 
'Dude,
Thank you so much for your photos and history lessons. So many people identify "New York" with NYC, and have no clue whatsoever the real size, diversity, and history of the rest of the state. A friend of mine recently took me for a ride (in the car - I'm recuperating from heart surgery) to Oswego, NY, where, beside Fort Oswego, local history, and numerous parks, are countless scenic overlooks of Lake Ontario. I'm always amazed by such an 'inland ocean'. Breathtaking...
Thanks for the feedback, Tebo.

Sorry to hear about your heart surgery !! This is probably a rough period of time for you; I remember it well, as it was about a year ago that I had my quadruple bypass operation. Had to be chauffeured around for awhile and not lift much of anything. I remember the day they "released me" from the driving ban (although I had already cheated); my cardiologist actually recommended that I "take the motorcycle out for a spin."

I hope your recuperation goes smoothly.

I'll send you a PM this evening........
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When I graduated from West Genesee High School in 1972, there were 537 of us crowding the gymnasium that day. The school was an enormous complex of buildings, better suited for the CIA or FBI.

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On my first day of classes in the ninth grade, I was bewildered with finding my way from building to building, which seemed like an experimental psychology rat maze. When the girls entered the building, if their skirt seemed a bit too short for the Vice Principal, he would have them kneel against the ceramic-tiled wall in front of everyone to check the dress length against a mark on the wall. It was an intimidating environment.

Things were different in the more distant past.

48 degrees was the temperature today when I visited the town of Spafford with Jimi The Winter Bike, where the one-room Side Hill Schoolhouse still stands. Perhaps one or two graduated each year when it was built in 1813, and maybe 3 in 1953 when it closed its doors.

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In 1977 juvenile arsonists severely damaged the building . There were some who called for the school to be demolished, but in 1989 a total restoration was done.

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Eventually, the exterior deteriorated, but in

2011 the local Boy Scout troop, with donations from local businesses, painted the building.


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On the way home I swung around to Marcellus for some bread at the Nojaim Brothers Market. At the checkout, the friendly teenage employee complimented me on my oily-but-intact leather and denim backpack, which I've used for at least 40 years. Nice of her to notice..:)

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...When the girls entered the building, if their skirt seemed a bit too short for the Vice Principal, he would have them kneel against the ceramic-tiled wall in front of everyone to check the dress length against a mark on the wall...

After all these years, I thought that only happened at MY school.
And, it was always the same 6 troublemakers...
 
Boy, talk about a juxtaposition, my mother taught a one room school house in post WW2 farmland Missouri. I graduated high school in a class of 747 seniors, here in Phoenix. I went to two different high schools, the first one was so over crowded they had split sessions. That is, they had two complete classes of students who went to school every day. Session one went from 6:00 am to 11:30, then the second session. Started at 12:00 and went to 5:30 pm.
It was crazy.
 
Sunday, went for a ride on a cloudy day. It was in the low 70's. 100 miler with few stops. This is on top of a Mt ridge, part of our Mt Park. Very steep and curvy. It's called Gate's Pass.
 

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